RUGS & GARDEN VIGNETTES ~ ~ ~

Isn't this rug beautiful? Ruth took a proddy class (as if she needed one!) from me two weeks ago and brought her finished piece here this week to a luncheon!! Ruth is a hooking machine!! Her sheep is a combination of a yellow subtly striped wool and yellow cashmere that I have in my stockpile ~ the background is spectacular and the proddy border really set it off! She did a wonderful job and is such a great gal ~ I really appreciate her sense of humor and approach to life! The gals she brought to lunch were really nice and so complimentary ~ they all hook ~ some more than others - you know who you are! I love it when a group of hookers get together ~ no end to the stories and the fun! Thanks for coming and I hope you'll come back soon! The lunch menu was broccoli quiche (my friend, Carol's recipe), 7-layer salad, frosted jello salad, rosemary lemonade and fresh Lake Erie peach cobbler ~ and I must say, it was pretty darned yummy!

I thought I would give you a progress report on the rug that I'm working on at the lake ~ I made quite a bit of headway on it Sunday before we left. Once the body is finished, I have to color plan the background and flowers ~ one thing at a time, you know! Actually, the rabbit takes up the most area, so the rug will be more than half done at that point!


A very old Adirondack chair and beeskep sit on a little brick patio in front of the garden shed ~ kind of a monochromatic setting although there is a nice bright orange begonia off to the side!
And these Adirondack loungers are out at the fish pond ~ orange begonias and blue bacopa fill the little stone planter for color. The myth is that we sit there in the evenings and enjoy the sound of the waterfall ~ what a lovely thought!! We should do that sometime!!


Last night, I finally made it to the hooking room ~ it was 11:30 actually ~ nuts, isn't it? April Deconick has issued a challenge on her blog to be a 10 minute hooker!! I have resisted joining this challenge (hook 10 minutes a day for 6 months) because I just feel I'm so undisciplined that I'll never stick to it! I have a hard time with such tasks!! But I decided last night I might give it a whirl ~ hence, the late night trip to begin my first 10 minute stint ~ I really hooked about 20-25 minutes (which I'm sure is the point ~ once we get started we'll hook even longer!) on two different mats that I started some time ago and haven't been back to in a while. Just tried to clean up some loose ends on the floral stair riser, literally ~ strips that were started and left hanging ~ and a small area on a sheep rug. So, now that I have day one under my belt, let's see how long I stick to it! The efforts only have to be hooking related, so that can include dying, pattern drawing, color planning, etc. Wish me luck and maybe you'll decide to take up the challenge! Check April's August 3 post and she'll tell you all about it!! Let me know if this encourages you to hook 10 minutes a day!!

Hope your day is a good one!
Alice


P.S. I just watched the two American journalists, that were held in North Korea, reunite with their families ~ it was a very touching and poignant moment. Those women are so fortunate to be back home ~ we love a happy ending!!!!!!!